We’re nearly there! This is the penultimate blog in our journey through the inbound marketing methodology. As the ‘Delight’ segment comes to a close, we’re going to take a look at smart text, sometimes referred to as smart content. In our last blog, we talked about how to use Smart Call-to-Action buttons, but this takes the idea of ‘smart’ one step further.
We’d like to think that any content you’ve created, or any created for you by your inbound marketing agency, to underpin your inbound efforts is already smart, as in it’s original, intelligent and engaging, but how ‘smart’ is it? We’re used to being able to personalise emails by inserting the name of the recipient after the word “Dear” or adding a couple of fields through the copy to at least appear to show that you’re ‘speaking’ to them directly. That kind of basic mail-merge automation has been around for decades. It might be a nice touch, but it’s far from smart! We’re going beyond email and into web pages for our take on smart text.
Smart content takes the notion of personalisation, tailors it for the 21st-century marketer and puts your visitors, leads and customers at the heart of your inbound marketing campaigns. If you’ve read our last blog on Smart Call-to-Action buttons, you’ll already be familiar with the mechanics of smart text. They build on the same HubSpot software and make use of the same Smart Lists and Lifecycle Stages your contacts go through, to give you even more power and functionality.
As we’ve touched upon, smart text goes beyond mail merging. It allows you to tailor the actual content people see on your website, so it is personalised to your customer’s needs. If, for example, your lead is already part-way through the buying process, they can see content that is geared to where they are in that workflow. Alternatively, if they are a first-time buyer (or potential buyer) they can see different content that is designed to entice them into making that initial sale. You can target your content based on anything that you already know about your contact. As you learn more about them and your marketing personas evolve, the possibilities get even smarter!
Now we’ve developed a new ‘smart’ paradigm, let’s take a look at how it works. Every website page will have a ‘default’ setting, that everyone will see, unless they are, or become, connected via your HubSpot system. As you learn more about them and update the HubSpot platform accordingly, smart text not just displays their name, but the content that is displayed to them.
This is done through either rich text format (RTF), forms, custom HTML and/or calls-to-action buttons. The content will change depending on the viewer's characteristics, adding personal touches or focusing on what they see displayed entirely. It will look like the page was designed just for them. This is achieved by using their cookie, the small computer file associated with their details which contains the information we need, that they will bring back with them every time they visit. It’s this tiny file working in conjunction with the huge HubSpot platform that allows us to connect what content they see and how they see it.
If the visitors are new to your site, you can still customise the content based on the country they are visiting from, the type of device they are using, their preferred language or, if they have been referred from another point, the source of that referral.
If you’re thinking smart text is nothing more than a personalisation tool, let me explain. All the data and research show that personalised content improves both the engagement of your visitors and the overall performance of your website. According to HubSpot’s research, over 12 months, personalised and targeted content performed 42% better than its generic counterparts.
All the work that powers this incredibly simple, yet powerful, feature is managed within HubSpot’s platform. By working in tandem with the team at WhiteHat, we can help you tailor your content and personalise your website in no time. If you’re looking for ways to engage with your visitors, you know our name, but isn’t it time you knew theirs?
Reference
Inbound Marketing Video: https://www.hubspot.com/video
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